Unbeatable
by The Vengeful Crobat
Summary: A young man named Drexel from Violet City forms an extremely unlikely bond and takes a journey he did not plan at all! Takes place roughly six years after the events of SoulSilver. Accepted canon of this story are the events of Yellow, SoulSilver, Omega Ruby, Platinum, Black and Black 2, and X.
1. Chapter 1

First piece of work I've got on a developing story. If anyone actually reads this and wants more, let me know if the chapters are too short. I can fix that. I obviously don't own any of the Pokemon franchise; GameFreak gets all that glory and whatnot. Thanks for reading!

Spring had risen in the beautiful city of Violet. The sunrise painted the roofs colored by the city's name a deep golden hue. Even the seemingly unfaltering Sprout Tower far to the north was colored by the sun. The morning had an air about it that suggested the city itself was having a fresh start to something.

Drexel had heard stories of children sleeping late on this special day and missing their opportunity, so he had set two alarms for 6:30 sharp. Within a few seconds of the bells waking up the whole house, he was up, throwing on his blue T-shirt and jeans, and getting ready for action.

Today, Drexel would start working at the Violet City Pokémon Gym.

Yesterday was his 18th birthday and he wasted no time filling out the job application. Drex had grown up learning from Faulkner all his life, so the application was more of a formality than anything else; his parents were finally going to let him battle now that he was 18. Before now, he wasn't even allowed his own Pokémon.

Grabbing a handful of pecha berries and bolting out the door, the excited young man hopped on his bike and took off with a visible glimmer of ambition in his eye.

As he weaved through the still waking streets, he passed the town flower shop, "Violets are Blue," and saw the owner's daughter, Abbi, up early, bow neatly tied in her hair, training her still young caterpie.

"Drex! Watch Cappie work," she yelled across the street. Drex had gotten ready early and could spare the time. The little girl then put her shiny metal bowl before the caterpie. "Cappie, String Shot!"

A determined new look on his face, the caterpie sprung itself up onto Abbi's shoulder, looking down at the bowl, and started releasing bursts of the coarse, webby string in crosshatch patterns into it. After a few minutes of this, the entire bowl had been lined with vertical and horizontal string shots, effectively filling the mold to make one of the shop's famous string shot flower baskets. The breathability and strength of the string make it ideal to place and water soil in.

The look on Abbi's face was beyond any excitement Drex had ever seen. "You did it, Cappie!" Instantly she reached for the bowl and flipped it upside-down. "Let's see it!" But instead of letting out a solid web-basket, a misshapen clump of gooey string fell out and hit the ground with a disappointing "plop."

"No!" Yelled Abbi. "I forgot to let the basket set! I'm so dumb! The one time we get it right..."

"Hey now," Drex said, taking a knee to get on the child's level. "It was a simple mistake; easy to fix next time. The important thing is that you knew what went wrong. When Cappie gets his PP back up, you'll try it again and it'll turn out great!" Drex turned to the caterpie on her shoulder, who had developed a disappointed look on his face. "The important think is to congratulate this little guy on his hard work. He filled the mold perfectly. I can tell his hard work has been paying off."

A smile came across Abbi's face as she took her caterpie off her shoulder and lifted it in front of her. "You're right, Drex. Cappie, that was awesome! You're so small and you can already make great flower baskets just like your mommy and daddy Butterfree!"

The caterpie made a squeal of joy, and the same grin fell upon Drex's face. "Don't act so shocked, Abbi. Cappie's size doesn't mean anything. Even the weakest-looking Pokémon has something special to offer to the world. Never forget that."

"I won't! I gotta go find one of Daddy's Ethers now, Cappie and I have a lot of work to do. Thanks, Drex!"

The child scurried into the shop with Cappie in her hands, and Drex got back on his bike, making his way to the first step of his exciting new job.


	2. Chapter 2

So this one's just a bit longer than the last chapter. I really like how this story's going. Please let me know what you guys think of it. Again, I don't have any ownership of Pokemon, even though I hella want to. GameFreak has all that jazz. Cheers!

Having reached the center of town, Drexel took a moment to admire the gym he stood before. The dome shape of the roof and the fact that it was one of the few buildings in town that wasn't shaded violet made it really stand out from everything else, as if the gym was built to challenge not only the trainers who came to it, but the customs of the city itself. Drex couldn't believe that he was now a part of this establishment and all it stood for.

As he opened the front door, a panicked young trainer bolted through Drex's path and knocked him over, an unconscious croconaw in his hands. Drex had grown accustomed to the sight of defeated newcomers; Faulkner hadn't lost a battle in about six years. Ever since he was beaten by young Champion Ethan, he had really stepped up his game and started fighting with a much wider variety of Pokémon. After all, you can't win every fight with a pidgey and a pidgeotto.

As Drex stepped on the lift and rose to the top of the gym, he began to wonder what his first day would entail. Would he be given a Flying-type Pokemon to fight with right away on the trainers' path to Faulkner? What Pokémon would he get? Were the choice up to him, Drex would easily choose starly. Eventually it would evolve into one of Drex's favorite Pokémon.

In the midst of his inner monologue, the lift had reached the top of the Gym. All the battle lights were still on and Faulkner's honchkrow was proudly circling the arena, still gloating about the obvious victory that just predated this moment.

"He thought Bite was gonna be his ace in the hole!" yelled the leader clad in blue from across the gym. "Poor kid didn't even know type matchups yet."

Faulkner ran out to meet Drex in the middle of the rafters, dangerously high above the ground. It's a wonder that no one's ever gotten hurt falling from these heights. The skarmory keeping watch always seems to catch any trainers who lose their balance. Faulkner says it's because of the Pokémon's ability, Keen Eye. Skarmory had saved a lot of lives, including Drex's a few times.

"Ready to start up, kid?" asked Faulkner, collected as ever. "Today's the most important day of the entire job." He looked excited for Drex. "You're gonna get your first Pokémon."

Even though he was 18, Drex was having a difficult time containing his childlike excitement. He had never had an actual Pokémon for himself outside of the family cherrim, and he was more than ready for this challenge.

"Yes sir!"

"Let's not waste any time," Faulkner said, guiding Drex back to the lift. "Abe! Close up the gym! We'll be out of commission for a few hours! We're gonna have a new Bird Keeper!"

As they took the eastward walk to the edge of town, Faulkner began to prep Drex for his task.

"It's a sort of rite of passage here at the Violet Gym," he explained. "Abe and Rod had to do it when they became Bird Keepers. I'm not going to give you your first Pokémon, Drex. You're going to catch it on your own."

Taken back by this new information, Drex tried to rationalize the situation in his head.

"But you're going to give me a Pokémon to battle with, right. How am I supposed to catch a Pokémon if I can't battle it."

"You've gotta be smart, Drex." Faulkner looked up to the sky: something Drex has seen him do plenty of times. "A bird keeper isn't just one with _his_ bird. He's one with every flying-type Pokémon he finds. You're going to have to use your wits to capture a Pokémon all on your own."

A new fear rose in the aspiring trainer that he didn't anticipate. This was going to be a much more challenging first day on the job than he expected.

They stopped at the edge of town, overlooking the tunnel between the city and Route 31.

"Now there are only two rules," Faulkner said, an unusually serious tone coming over his voice. "Rule one: your Pokémon has to be a flying type. I can't run a gym full of birds and have you fighting with a bellsprout."

Understandable.

"Rule two:" Faulkner looked Drex dead in the eye. "If I hear that a Pokémon dies on your hands, you're instantly fired, and we _will_ be looking into legal matters. Since you're not using a Pokémon, too much force _can_ and _will_ kill a weak Pokémon, and I _will_ not have that in my gym."

Terrified of his own strength now, Drex quickly nodded.

"Here, take these." Faulkner handed Drex a small sack. "There are a few Oran Berries and five Pokéballs in there. The berries are for bait, not for you." He chuckled. "I know you can do this, kid. You've got a way with Pokémon. I've always seen that." The blue-haired gym leader turned around and took a seat under a nearby tree. "I'll be waiting here for your return with your new partner."

Nervous, but still hopeful, Drex nodded, gripped the bag firmly, and bolted off through the tunnel into route 31, ready to find his new friend.


	3. Chapter 3

Here's the third chapter. The story's sort of writing itself at this point. I know no one's really reading this, but maybe sometime later on, an estranged reader will stumble across my work and take pleasure in it. To that, I say "Thank you, estranged reader." I don't own Pokemon, Gamefreak does, blah blah.

"Come on, Pidgey," Drex coaxed, trying to lure the bird Pokémon out of the bush with an oran berry. "I'm not gonna hurt you."

The bad-tempered bird hopped it's way out of the shrubbery, making it's way to the round, blue fruit before it.

"A little farther..."

It took the bait. The pidgey began pecking at the berry, too small to swallow it whole.

"Finally! You're mine!" Drex pelted his fourth Pokéball at his target. Unfortunately, the Tiny Bird Pokémon's reflexes were faster than Drex's arm, and it took flight, taking the half-eaten berry, and with it, Drexel's confidence in himself. That was his last berry and his second-to-last Pokéball. Having given up hope, the aspiring Bird Keeper started trekking north, back up to the city. What would Faulkner say when Drex returned empty-handed. Would Drex even get a second chance?

"Jaws, Water Gun!"

Drex's brought his head up from his sulk to search for the source of the command. A trainer was close by.

"Bite, now!"

Drex heard a rough cry of pain coming from Dark Cave. There was some training going on in there. Drex had always liked watching trainers train, so he crept over to the front of the cave to take a peek.

It was the trainer from this morning; the one that Faulkner's Honchkrow had defeated. Getting a closer look, the trainer was tall and lean, roughly the same age as Drex, but much more experienced-looking. He was clad in a green jacket and tan cargo pants. From what it looked like, he had plans of re-challenging Faulkner pretty soon. The trainer's croconaw was knocking out Pokémon left and right, instantly searching for new targets with a thirsty determination. With this attitude, the mysterious trainer just might have what it takes to take out Faulkner.

"That's what I like to see! Next target!"

Drex had taken a couple steps into the cave, illuminated only by a lantern in a corner, next to the trainer. The cave was much quieter than the times Drex had come to visit for school projects; all the Pokémon were entirely knocked out. Only the sound of dripping water rang through the tunnels of the black expanse before the Big Jaw Pokémon.

"Looks like you missed the show, buddy," said the trainer, apathetically waving in Drex's direction, obviously not recognizing him from before. "Name's Calix." Drex didn't like how hard the trainer was trying to be cool.

"Jaws here's cleaned house. Let's get out of he-"

In the middle of his sentence, a small squeak rang out through the expanse of the cave. Calix instantly directed his focus to the new sound, lifting his lantern to investigate. "Looks like you're in luck. Jaws just may have one more fight for the day." Drex wasn't ready to face Faulkner yet, so he walked a bit further into the cave with Calix and Jaws. The squeak came again, this time from behind a nearby rock.

The group ran around the boulder to see two thin blue legs trying to push themselves into a small crack in the rock. Calix looked upon the struggling figure and chuckled.

"zubat. Pathetic." He turned around to see Drex attentively observing the situation, and instantly turned back. "But I guess a fight's a fight. Jaws, get 'em."

The croconaw lunged at the struggling Pokémon with his teeth, clenching a hold on the legs. It dragged the Pokémon out of the crevice and threw it on the open ground. Drex's interest of the situation instantly shifted to fear and concern. The zubat wasn't flying. As soon as it hit the ground, it began a panicked crawl with its wings to get away from the fight. This was hardly fair.

"Calix, leave this one alone!" Drex quickly commanded. "It's still a baby; it can't even fly yet." Calix turned to Drex, an exasperated look on his face.

"That's not my problem. Jaws here needs experience if we're gonna get that Zephyrbadge. This is a wild Pokémon. Who's the trainer here?" Calix returned his attention to the scrambling Bat Pokémon. "Jaws, Water Gun!"

The croconaw reared back its head and unleashed a powerfully pressurized stream of water, catching the baby zubat and pushing it up against the cave wall. The attack wasn't stopping, and the Zubat's cries were getting quieter and less frequent. Drex was legitimately horrified. "You're drowning the thing! Stop it!"

Calix ignored Drex's plea and instead let the move run its course. After a few more dreadful seconds, the move lost its pressure and the stream stopped. The baby Pokémon fell back to the ground, coughing up water. Its squeaks were frail and painful now.

"That Pokémon can't protect itself! You're gonna kill it!" Drex ran in between the croconaw and its victim. "You've won this battle, now go!"

Calix seemed thoroughly unmoved by this action. "Look, buddy. You're not a trainer, so I get to an extent why you're being so obstinate. But look at that Zubat." Drex turned his gaze from the relentless trainer to the wheezing baby on the ground. "See that Pokémon?" Calix said. "See how it's still conscious? The battle isn't over until one Pokémon is entirely knocked out." The trainer took a downright terrifying tone. "Now get out of my way."

Drex, though terrified of the menacing Pokémon before him, refused to move. Calix shook his head and chuckled.

"I'm sorry it had to come to this. Jaws, get rid of him!"

Jaws instantly lowered his head and charged at Drex, swatting him away. Drex was thrown to another wall of the cave. His body hurt something fierce and his vision was blurry, but he could make out the situation. The Croconaw was advancing on the helpless zubat, unable to move now. Drex tried to shout, but the wind was knocked out of his lungs. In this terrifying scene, the one thing he heard made everything worse.

"Rage."

Jaws let out a roar and struck the zubat with his claws. Drex could hear a shriek of pain. The Pokémon was still conscious.

"Again."

Another strike. This Pokémon was going to die, and Drex could do nothing about it.

"Again."

As Jaws raised his claw for a third, much more powerful strike, an idea dawned on Drex. Still in immense pain from the force of the attack, he opened up his bag and pulled out his final Pokéball. Gathering the little strength he had left, he aimed his shot at the dark blue mass on the ground and threw. The ball faded out of Drex's range of clear sight, and a flash of white-blue light ensued.

"What?! Are you serious? You're trying to catch this garbage Pokémon?" Drex could hear Calix's loud, frustrated voice, then dead silence. Drex remembered all the captures he had witnessed over the years, and counted the ticks in his head.

"Three…Two…One…"

Click.


End file.
